PolyQ

PolyQ catalogs human protein sequences containing polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts to enable investigation of sequence-context effects on aggregation and the molecular mechanisms of polyglutamine diseases.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive Sequence Collection: Compiles human protein sequences that contain runs of seven or more glutamine residues.
• Annotated Domain Information: Provides detailed domain annotations for each sequence to define the structural and functional context of polyQ tracts.
• Contextual Sequence Querying: Enables interrogation of sequences based on repeat tract location and host protein architecture to assess context-dependent properties.
• Support for Bioinformatic Analysis: Supplies annotated datasets intended for computational analysis of aggregation propensity and sequence–context relationships relevant to polyglutamine disorders.

Scientific Applications:

• Disease mechanism investigation: Facilitates study of polyglutamine diseases such as Huntington's disease and certain spinocerebellar ataxias by linking polyQ tracts to host protein context.
• Aggregation propensity analysis: Enables examination of how domain architecture, repeat tract location, and host protein properties influence aggregation into β-sheet rich structures and neuronal toxicity.
• Therapeutic target discovery: Informs identification of sequence-context features that may be targeted to mitigate or prevent toxic aggregation in polyQ disorders.

Methodology:

Systematic collection and annotation of human protein sequences containing significant polyglutamine tracts with emphasis on domain architecture and repeat tract location to support bioinformatic analysis.